A Road, Where No One Knows
by Acoustic Redemption
Summary: After his brother is nearly killed in a gang related incident, Tadashi Hamada forms the San Fransokyo Biker Gang, a group consisting of four borderline psychopaths, a robotics prodigy, and a giant nurse/fighter bot, in order to take down the criminals of San Fransokyo to ensure his baby brother is safe. It's only after someone gets murdered, however, that things get interesting.


**Author's Note: **_This fic didn't go as well as I expected on AO3, but I want to accumulate more stories into my little pile here, so I cross posted. c: I haven't written anything actually..y'know, violent in a while. o -o;;_

_I should warn everyone now, I'm rating this T, but take it with a grain of salt! I will warn, there's...a few small, graphic depictions of violence here._

* * *

If the clock across the room is to be taken correctly, Tadashi Hamada notes that it's nearing three AM by the time he finally climbs onto the roof and reaches the window just outside his bedroom. Outside, the world is quiet, the sky an array of city lights and the few glowing turbines floating above him, powering the world silently with wide spins. By now, the loft above the famous Lucky Cat Cafe is quiet, his little brother tucked safely in bed and his Aunt crashed from a hard day's work at the cafe, and the streets below him are quiet compared to the loud bustling noise of the city during the day. Sure, he's only a few streets away from the busiest road in the area, but tonight, it's quiet, the only noise coming from his grunts, and the god forsaken squeaking of his jammed window.

If it wasn't around forty degrees out right now, and he wasn't soaked in the blood of someone else, Tadashi wouldn't mind this minor inconvenience. In fact, he'd embrace it; a challenge, a minor offset that he himself would have to figure out. He would feel like a ninja, breaking into his house to take out his next enemy. The thought brings, for a brief moment, a fun little smile on his face.

The red on the edge of his window catches him off guard and brings him back to reality. He can't be fooling around. Right now, he's covered in someone else's blood, and climbing into the window of a nice looking house above a rather busting cafe at three in the morning in a mask and black clothes. And though he doubts people can see him in this poor lighting, he doesn't want to take the risk. Tadashi knows that if the police get called, he'll be in trouble, with no way to explain himself. He also knows how bad it would be for both his Aunt and brother to be awoken so late at night.

So instead, he sets heed to pry the window open. Wedging one of his katanas between the side of the window and the frame, he wiggles forcefully, carefully, with one hand, clutching the bottom and pushing with the other. The squeaking drives him insane, and it's in this moment that he's glad his brother had learned to tune out the late night sounds of squealing, typing, and other fumbling noises.

Please don't wake up Hiro. Please don't wake up Hiro. Please. Don't. Wake. Up. Hiro. He repeats this mantra over in his head as he fumbles with the window and Kanata. He tries to look into his room, but curses when he sees the divider is still up from when he left earlier. He grits his teeth. Normally he wouldn't mind – Hro didn't know he snuck out tonight, so it would mean his brother didn't pry.

On another hand, it makes it hard for him to see his precious baby brother while he's outside. He supposes he can climb over and peek, but it's likely that Hiro's curtains are still down, like they'd been each day since the incident.

Finally, the window pops open and Tadashi jerks it upwards, clicking his tongue at the satisfying clicking noise that means the window's in place. He yanks off his gloves and heaves himself over the window seal, careful not to smear blood any further. I knows he can just easily clean it away in the morning, but he'd rather not. He's exhausted.

When he gets inside, the first thing he does is rip the black, plastic covering over his boots, and tosses them down the garbage chute in between his and Hiro's room. They'd built it only a few months ago, under Tadashi's suggestion for a more effective way of getting rid of excess food in the cafe. Tadashi had spent weeks setting it, up making sure it ran safely, getting every check he possibly could done on it to make sure it was safe for the cafe and safe for all of Aunt Cass's recipes.

He'd worked so hard, making sure it was absolutely perfect. He knew for a fact that the lasers Wasabi had invented would catch each parcel, turning it into fine tuned at the bottom, no evidence left. The lining was a blood absorbing liner that Honey had build, that would convert the blood into separate compounds of rust, glucose, plasma, and other particles of the blood. It was a perfect way to get rid of any evidence of vigilance and hard work.

If Aunt Cass had any idea what he was doing with the recent installation, she'd be heartbroken.

The next thing he does is make quick work of unclothing himself and tossing those clothes down the chute, too. He's sure someday, if he's caught, he'll have to explain himself and why there's so many black pairs of pants in his closet, and so many black turtlenecks stored in a box above, but for now, he's content. No one will be able to ever prove it, anyways. He unwraps bloodied bandages from his arms and tosses those down too. It's cold, being stripped down to his underwear, so he works hastily to nab at a pair of pajamas and makes heed to the shower.

As he slides the door open to the other half the room, his eyes land on his brother. His heart nearly melts at the site of the small bundle under the covers.

His brother is wrapped up in a large comforter, hair barely peeking out. His brother is curled up, shaking in his sleep, and he has half the mind to wake up his brother. He knows it's risky, however, and the hovering hand that reaches for the covers comes away with a small sigh. His brother must be having nightmares about the incident again, with all the shakes and whimpers coming from him.

Tadashi catches the blood on his hands. Eyes lingering on Hiro, he wishes, so desperately, that he could stop those guys from hurting him even in his sleep. But all he can do is deal with them in the real world.

As he's done tonight. The mission, clean, swift, precise. Information about more they can take out. He takes a deep breath. He's working on it._I'm going to stop them all, Hiro. I'm going to find Yama. I'm going to find the man who did this to you._

Some might call him a murderer, he muses dimly, silently, eyes shutting as he makes the promise.

Tadashi doesn't see it that way. Opening his eyes, he dropped his hand to the side. He smiles fondly at his little brother, and turns, ready to wash away any evidence of his participation in the events earlier in the night.

~o~

The shower is as hot as Tadashi can stand it, steam filling the room, only to be sucked out the cracked window as it nears the door. Tadashi loves the way the steam feels in his lungs, almost like the familiar foggy feeling of inhaling Gogo's vape, or taking a drag from Fred's joints. He doesn't smoke himself; no, he's too good for that. But it doesn't mean that he won't do it once in a while. He's much too polite to turn down the offer.

He won't lie to himself, though. He loves the feeling. It makes him dizzy; he feels weightless with every inhalation, as if he's being carried away like he feels when he gets a little too carried away with Fred's offers. If Aunt Cass knew, she'd be so disappointed.  
Hiro would, too.  
Tadashi watches, with slight fascination, as the water pools around his feet, a pinkish color from the blood soaking his body. He knows he has a ton in his hair; the man had bled everywhere onto them when they'd finished the mission, and so he runs some soap, lathering into a pink mixture and watching it wash down the drain. The colors are beautiful against the yellow porcelain, almost like a sunset. He lets his mind linger.  
Sunsets. Night fall. Scooters. Bot fights.  
Bot fights.

Tadashi feels his body begin to shake at the thought of both fights. The whole reason for tonight's events, for why he must protect Hiro. His entire purpose for his sudden new found career, his passion. He knows it's Hiro that brought him down this path in the first place, but at the same time, if he hadn't fought…

Tadashi lets his mind wander. It's been seven months.  
Seven months since the incident that changed his life forever.

~o~ ~o~

"I can't _believe _ you!" Hiro snaps, shaking his favorite blue hoodie up for Tadashi to see. The two of them are fighting, the tension deafening. If not for Aunt Cass shopping, they wouldn't even be in this position. Instead, Hiro and Tadashi would be arguing under hushed tones. A chip lies on floor between the brothers, small, green, and suspiciously wrapped in a chunk of blue fabric.  
" I _trusted _ you!" Hiro snaps once more, pointing to the chip. "And you...you stick _that _in my hoodie?"

"It's only to protect you!" Tadashi's standing up, clenching his fists with newfound vigor. He roars at the top of his lungs, furious at his brother for caring. _Caring. _ About his _safety._

"I can protect _myself, _ Tadashi!" Hiro grits his teeth, megabot discarded on the bed. If he hadn't turned around to grab his hoodie last minute per his brother's request, he never would have found the chip, hooked into his hoodie, loosened from wear and tear. He feels betrayed. Furious. Like he's a child, being reprimanded for having too many cookies. So _this _is how his brother's been finding him! Tracking him like a child!

And he's having none of that. Not anymore!

"I can't believe you...I told you, bot fighting is _dangerous!" _ Tadashi stresses, throwing his hands up in the air. "You are...just... _so immature!"_

"And I can't believe _you!" _ Hiro screams back. " _Screw you! Screw you and your stupid, shitty inventions, Tadashi! " _ He wants to punch something. Tadashi preferably. But he can't, because he doesn't want to. The hoodie in his hands burn. "Just...leave me _alone!"_

He throws the hoodie at Tadashi as his brother is about to retort with something else that will tick them both off. The hoodie flies at faster speed, and the corner of the

He's angry. He's mad. They both are, but Hiro is especially mad. He feels betrayed, like he's been lied to this entire time. He looks over at Megabot, inhaling.  
His brother wants to put trackers in his hoodie? Fine.  
He'll just wear one of Aunt Cass's.

As the door clicks shut, Tadashi whips around and has half the mind to start screaming obscenities at his brother. He wants to grab him, drag him into the room, throw him on the bed, and tie him to his bed post, so that he can't move He wants to do several things, several things he knows is _wrong _ and against every moral code - punch him, shake, him, _something. _ He wants to pick his brother up and hug him tightly and never let go because he's scared. He wants to make sure his brother _knows _ how much he cares about his little brother, and how the chips were the best way he could keep him safe without invading his privacy completely. He wants to do _something._

But he's just so _exhausted._

He decides it's not worth it, tonight. If Hiro wants to prove himself a good fighter, capable of being on his own, _fine. _He can get into his own mess. Tadashi rubs tired eyes. He never wanted this. His parents wouldn't have wanted it either. In fact, he's pretty sure no one wants a fourteen year old in on the bot fighting scene. He closes his eyes, resting his head in his hands and taking a seat on the bed.

_Hiro will be fine, _ he assures himself. _He's made it home before safe and sound. One night's not going to kill him. _ He quietly stands back up and slides the divider across the room. If Hiro comes in, he's going to wake Tadashi, and that's not something Tadashi wants right now. In fact, all Tadashi wants to do is _sleep. _So he slides off his socks, rips off his shirt, and climbs into bed with a pair of blue pajama bottoms, yanking the covers comfortably over himself before flicking off the light.

He's asleep in a matter of minutes.

He's awake in the matter of seconds, a loud, piercing wail from Aunt Cass. Tadashi doesn't even have to register that it's her; he throws the sheets off, forces the divider open, and slides down the hall in a matter of seconds.  
" Aunt Cass…!" He stops dead in his tracks when he sees his aunt, covering her mouth with one hand and the bulky house phone against her ear. She nods, taking in stuff, not even registering that Tadashi's in the room. Finally, she talks.  
"Yes, I understand. We'll be there in ten minutes, maybe less. Thank you. Goodbye." She is surprisingly firm in her conversation, and only pulls away the phone when they both hear the other line hang up. She pulls the phone away slowly, placing it on her nightstand. She's dressed in her robe - she must have put it on, Tadashi notes, when she got the call, thinking Hiro might have gotten a -

Hiro.

"Aunt Cass?" He knows he doesn't have to ask. He knows. Hiro's hurt. _Badly _hurt from the look on Aunt Cass's face. She turns to face him and her voice is quiet. Almost a squeak.

"They found him. They found h-him. In an a-ally way…" She fumbled over her words. "H-he just got into s-surgery. T-they had to stitch him up, h-he...they d-didn't say." Tadashi's heart clenches at Cass doubles over, and he races to her side. _Hiro's hurt. Hiro's hurt, oh god, this is _ my _fault. _He holds Cass for a few minutes, before she demands he get dressed and asks him to drive.

Seven hours pass before Tadashi hears any official news about his brother. He watches the nurse, a small tan skinned woman with a bush of curly hair, walk up, dressed in Hello Kitty scrubs. He taps Cass's shoulder lightly, grabbing her attention from her failed attempts to fill out paper work without shaking. She looks up, half annoyed, half desperate to know information. The nurse clears her throat.  
She introduces herself as Nurse Akayama, before continuing. She asks if she can get them anything, tea, snacks, water. Cass accepts, Tadashi turns it down. He can't stomach it. The nurse leaves and comes back, and then, as Cass sets down her tea, she clears her throat.  
"We have news, about Hiro." She takes a seat across from them on the plump, orange-red cushioned bench. Tadashi is alerted, and sits up straight. "It's...good. Hopeful. But not as good as we'd like. Dr. Hopkins has done excellent work-"

"Please," Cass says, desperation and shakiness in her voice. She's been through this before. "My brother died here. His wife, too. I've been through this whole consoling thing before. Just give me the news, I can take it. And if I can't, I can go to a bar." She gives a dry laugh and the nurse gives a nasally life in return. Tadashi's silent. Grieving. _Afraid._

_How can she be making a joke in a time like this?_

The nurse looks between the two of them before setting forward. "He's got a bad injury to the face. Fractured skull. We already did a CT, there's no brain bleeding, but he will have a nasty concussion. He's stable, for now. He'll live."

A rush of relief fills Tadashi and Cass, and they smile at one another. A fractured skull? That's nothing - "He did suffer several broken bones. Seven ribs, his sternum was cracked, wrist shattered on his left arm, his right arm broke in four different places...his ankle is twisted and he has a broken right leg. He fractured his left foot." The list goes on, lacerations, bruises, _burns. _ Tadashi feels his stomach twist.  
But what really gets him is the last part. "And the worst injury is his eye. The attacker cut straight into it. We couldn't save it, not with the infection. Whoever did this ripped out whatever had been in the eye…" The nurse inhaled. Exhaled. Tadashi did the same, but probably not from nerves from the reactions he was getting from giving bad news. He was going to puke. "He's blind," She finished. "I am so sorry. "  
" I need to throw up." Tadashi urgently said, running to the bathroom. The nurse looked on, Cass sobbing openly, asking what to do and seeking consult.  
Tadashi couldn't breathe. Couldn't exist. Couldn't do anything but sit there and cry.  
Someone had hurt him. Someone had taken him, and beaten him within an inch of his life and left him there, and broke his wrist, broke his ribs, broke his _head. _ They had _burned _ him. They had _tortured _him for winning and being awesome.

Someone had hurt his precious baby brother, and it was all, entirely, _Tadashi's f_ault.

In the two weeks that his brother was in a coma, Tadashi spent each and every night researching everything he could about criminology. He attended free talks, worked hand and hand with the local police force to track down criminals, and even explored bot fighting scenes to see what was going on. But nothing seemed to help. Every corner he turned, he was grabbed by someone who would say "I'm sorry for your troubles," or ask him how his brother was doing. School was a nightmare; if he wasn't being told "I'm sorry" he was being given looks of sympathy. He ended up holing himself up in his room, asking his teachers to send him work over email, doing anything he possibly could to avoid the looks of pity and sympathy.

Two months in, and he stops caring so much what people think. He holes himself up, works hard on Baymax, and studies. If the outside world wants to drag him back out, tough luck. Even though his brother is alive, and well, and _healthy, _he still can't rest until he knows his brother is safe. Hiro won't even leave the house anymore, and Tadashi is sick of watching his brother cry some nights because he's scared to sleep. He wants to make sure Hiro knows he's going to be safe.

So he does what he does best, the thing Tadashi knows he can always rely on.

He studies, long, and hard, and gets to know the facts.  
He clicks on a link leading to another gang forum, scrolling around for anything that might be of use. A discarded empty can of red bull sits by a half eaten muffin, clock reading three AM. He's already accumulated a lot of information he probably could have lived without knowing - . He's looking for something about mountains - his brother mentioned that he'd been fighting a Mr. Yama when he'd been attacked. The police already had too many dead ends - no one with the last name Yama in the city was known to bot fight, and no one came up. What did come up, however, was a few mentions of a gang known as the Mountain Valley. Close, the police said as they closed the investigation, but not close enough.

Tadashi continues to mindlessly scroll through the forum until he finds a link. "Bot fighters, bring it on!" reads the title, and Tadashi clicks on it after a moment's hesitation. He figures he has nothing to lose; the worst he gets is a minute or two of his time wasted. However, the feeling in his gut tells him that that's not going to be the case. This is the first bot fighting thread he's found that's been a real, genuine challenge; after all, the inappropriate advertisements that would give Aunt Cass a heart attack in no time flat litter the page. It's obviously meant for adults; there's no doubt on it.

The post is written; a young adult that attends the local community college (Tadashi can recognize San Fran Community College's logo in the corner of his icon, stupid kid.) is looking to be challenged by the best of the best. He scrolls the site for Hiro's user tag name (Awesomebotsauce2000; he chose it because no one could take it from him, and it'd been his email from before he'd gotten into the dark parts of the web) and is relieved to see no comments. Even though he knows Hiro is better than to comment on sites like these, with a username than that, he's seen him do it before. He's seen Hiro's innocent comments on other forums, cleaner forums.

He wonders for a moment if Hiro has visited sites like these. Seen the raunchy ads, talked to the stupid punk kids from community college, been tricked into things no young boy should...

And then his eyes land on the word Yama, and he drops every fearful thought and focuses all of his attention on the small, four letter word. Well, it's not four letters, because it's written in Japanese, and for once, he's glad his parents rammed Japanese in his head at a young age. His seven year old self may not have appreciated it, but after years of not actively speaking the language, he's gotten rusty. But reading it almost is like a second language, a secret code.

And even if he barely knows that Yama means 'mountain' in his mother's home language, he reads katakana well enough to know that it says Yama, and it says it in a formal way. Which means whatever's been written in the block of kanji, hirigana, and katakana is related to gang.

He enters the text into google translate, and waits. The choppy text repeats back to him:

"Ayo." Tadashi already knows this is gonna be good. "For out watch Yama family male. Image below [gibberish Japanese] they tattoo. mountain with many flower colorful. Police do not want to take out. Be careful and safe. Good luck. xoxo'

Tadashi clicks back onto the forum and scrolls down a little. He clicks the attached file, and almost expects a picture of a penis or a poor woman's exposed breasts, but is instead greeted by the exact contents he was promised: a picture of the tattoo. And he's seen this tattoo before. Many many times.

Hiro fought a big name with this tattoo the night he first brought his brother to SFIT. He stares at the tattoo, long and hard, and fills his face go red with fury.

They beat him up. Just like they promised. All because Tadashi had put a chip in Hiro's hoodie to keep him safe while he was still bot fighting. And now? Now, he had not only the proof from the picture of the clan's existence, and how to find them and know it was them.

But he also had the picture Hiro had drawn, which vaguely resembled the tattoo in all the right ways it had to.

Gogo Tomago is the first person that Tadashi makes acquaintances with after nearly two months. He found her through a gang blog, actually, recognizing her cherry blossom tattoo. She's almost offended when she pulls her sleeve down to hide it, and she grabs him, throws him into the closet, and slams the door shut.

Before she can open her small, dainty mouth, Tadashi interrupts her. "I only brought it up because I need your help."

Gogo Tomago isn't convinced. She hasn't met this guy, doesn't even know his name, but she knows he knows about the Sakura clan and his desire for her help _does _peek her curiosity in a way.

She agrees to help him. He wants to form a gang of his own - a biker gang, to be precise. She snorts at the idea, until he reveals to her that the Yama clan nearly killed a fourteen year old - his little brother - over a bot fight incident that happened over six months ago. Three months into recovery, and four unsuccessful attempts to take down at least one Yama clan member, Tadashi's desperate for help, and the tattoo was the first relatively, reasonably safe option he'd run across. She nods.

"It's a good cover. You're smart. You got a deal, kid."

He tells her his name is Tadashi Hamada. She introduces herself at Gogo. She gives him a number and tells him she'll get a few people for him to meet, and the plan is set.

Three days later, he's got a team, five bikes, a bot he turned from a nursebot to a fighter bot, and four very interesting individuals on his team.

Gogo is the oldest of the group, 23. She started school late after getting dropped into the drug cartel and drag racing in high school, but she's in the same class level as everyone else, aside from Tadashi. Short, bitter, and almost humorously stereotypical Korean, she's probably the most violent of the group, mouth wise. She brought the bikes from her shop for everyone to ride, under the important fact that they would have to overlook that she _is, _thank you very much, going to steal and beat the crap out of people if they get in her way. Her purple streak and bubble gum pops add to her character. She's the one who scares Tadashi the most, admittedly, out of the group.

Except for there's Fred. Tadashi remembers Fred from high school, the social out cast. He knows that Fred's loaded, always has been, always will be, and that he spends a lot of his money getting body modifications. Though after not seeing Fred for almost five years (Tadashi is proud to say that yes, he _is _getting his master's degree started at 21) Tadashi can't help but to admit he's in a bit of a shock. Fred's covered in piercings and tattoos, covering most of his body, except for his face, which is ridden with tasteful, but still excessive, piercings. His tongue is split and his spin has several industrial piercings on each vertebra. But what really gets at the 21 year old is when Fred opens his mouth to speak. His teeth are sharpened to a point, capped in silver, almost like a row of shark's teeth. His tongue is also split in two, and he playfully flickers it at Tadashi, who proceeds to squeak and recoil. Fred, Gogo also warns in an undertone, is a cannibal.

Which makes Tadashi scared, but not so much himself, as much as for Wasabi, Fred's room mate and possibly gay mate, if anything Gogo has to say is taken absolutely seriously. Wasabi is the tallest of the group, at 6'6", and is nothing but quiet words, calm attitude, and genuine friendliness. He grew up in the dark parts of the hood, and isn't afraid to shoot a gun or protect anyone as long as he gets part of the pay. Tadashi promises that the can do whatever they want with these people, so long as no one gets hurt in the group. Or no one dies.  
( _Too late for that, Tadashi would later think in the shower.)_

The last member of the group is, undoubtedly, Tadashi's favorite. The second he sees her, his heart leaps to his throat, and his jaw drops. She's stunning. A model, gorgeous. Gogo introduces her fondly, like an old friend, (and later, Tadashi finds out that she had a thing with Gogo, but that would be brought up in a drunken moment with weed filling the air) and Tadashi's heart stops at her name. Honey Lemon, a girl as sweet as her name, if not for the blank eyes and the giggling over the fact that she gets to use these people to see how chemicals work on people instead of how she does it with animals. He can't help but to find a strange beauty in her.

(_Later, he asks her to kiss her under the rain and the two of them end up dating. Four months, two weeks, four days would be how long they'd been dating on the day Tadashi thinks about this all in the shower.)_

Four months later, and Tadashi Hamada would be the witness of the death of not one, but seventeen individuals. It didn't start out this way - no, it was never the intention. In fact, as far as gangs got? They were harmless.

Under aliases wearing masks, they took out bad guys. To make Hiro safe. The San Fransokyo Biker Gang, five notorious members taking out crime to the curb. It was innocent, harmless. Crimes rates went down, the news reporters went crazy.

And then, one bad move, and someone was dead.

And something broke, deep down inside everyone.  
Another knife, wiggled in the chest cavity of a woman. A bomb, set off on accident, taking out others. The killing, swift, harmless if not for the convenient timing. It's easier, to take them out than risk them coming after them.

And suddenly, it became an obsession, and everyone was in far, _far _too deep.

Tonight is no different. Having tracked down a man who had actually physically harmed Hiro in the incident, Tadashi didn't need to told twice to take him out after Honey's mask got shattered and their alias along with it. A knife, tearing through his eyeball, the fluid dripping freely onto his gloved risk. A shrill scream, covered by a pink glove, a knife, trailing down to his abdomen and sinking into his stomach until it brushes his spine. Tadashi demands info, he gets it.  
And then, he tells Honey to let go and slices a nice, thick, uneven line across the man's delicate bobbing throat. His stomach twists and he looks at the man, but there's no sympathy to be had. No remorse, no fear. He may have just killed a man, but he's killed a man who's deserved it.

He kisses Honey sweetly after the kill, but the alert of authorities down the street causes them to panic. Honey pours acid over the body, and then sprays the air with a chemical to absorb the smells. The acid works quickly and effectively, turning the body to ash.

And the group splits, before they can be caught for good.

Two hours later, Tadashi turns off of the shower and relishes in the way the steam clings it to his skin as he steps out of the tub. He grips to the counter, checking his body for any cuts or bruises. A particularly nasty purple bruise runs down the side of his leg, He'll have to put ice on it later; it he goes downstairs now, his Aunt will know something's up and he'll be caught. He instead runs a washcloth under cold water and slabs it on his legs, making himself comfortable on the ground of the bathroom. He pulls out a magazine from the holder.

His fingers still shake from the adrenaline of the kill.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I hope. You guys. Like it? ouo


End file.
